Spherical objects utilized in games such as pool or billiards are normally homogeneous throughout so that the shock of impact will be thoroughly, uniformly absorbed throughout the entire mass of the ball. In the case of a pool ball, a number designation identifying the ball is provided on one or more surface portions of the ball, the balls themselves normally being opaque.
A very attractive type of pool ball would result if a transparent material could be used in molding the ball. In such instances, however, provision of a designating numeral on the surface would interrupt the transparent feature of the ball and it would be preferable if the designating numeral could someway be incorporated or encapsulated within the ball.
It is already known to provide a transparent bowling ball encapsulating geometric designs to enhance and provide a novel appearance for the bowling ball. In this respect, reference is had to U.S. Pat. No. 3,207,514 to Vickery claiming such a structure. However, so far as we are aware, there has never heretofore been produced a transparent pool or billiard ball incorporating an appropriate number designation until the invention of Robert James Chavarria and Clark Berg Foster as disclosed and claimed in copending patent application Ser. No. 728,498 filed Sept. 28, 1976, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,116,439, and entitled POOL BALL.
The foregoing application discloses molding apparatus, a molding method, and a completed transparent pool ball product. Nevertheless, effective bonding between the incorporated numeral carrier in the sphere and the sphere material itself as well as the ink or other means for providing a numeral or symbol has not always been assured. As a consequence, shattering of the ball along cleavage planes where improper bonding occurs can result. Moreover, surface deterioration and imperfections are difficult to avoid.